Attaching Wire

Some might say crimp on a ring terminal to the end of your wire. But the time to take the terminal nuts all the way off and put back on is likey to be not much faster than partially removing the nut and wraping a wire around the threaded stud. But you did say fastest. Not sure why that matters, unless you are attaching your wires to your transformer dozens of times a day. I have found the ring terminal more secure, unless you crimp it on poorly.

There are so many different kinds of connectors on transformers and wiring blocks that this won't be a clean answer. Many transformers and even modern electronics like the MTH TIU have so-called "five-way binding posts" on them. That hole in the center of the binding post was designed to receive a so-called "banana plug". Certainly fast and pretty secure. 

Unfortunately, over the years since the binding post was designed, roughly 100 years ago, the specs on that hole have been played with by vendors to an extent that it is EASY to find plugs that don't fit your application. It's messy. 

But I still like them and use them (though not exclusively--not even close).

Don

German posted:

Some might say crimp on a ring terminal to the end of your wire. But the time to take the terminal nuts all the way off and put back on is likey to be not much faster than partially removing the nut and wraping a wire around the threaded stud.

It's not slow if you use a spade lug.   No need to take the nut all the way off.

I use these on my KW. You can buy replaceable banana plug end to go on the wire.

Agree with @gunrunnerjohn about using spade crimp on connectors. I further suggest, IMHO, that it is best to match the crimp on connector to the gauge of wire you are using, and the size of the spade slot to match the diameter of the screw or binding post.

The plastic on the crimp connector is color coded for wire gauge - red for 16 to 22 gauge wire, blue for 14 to 16 gauge wire, and yellow for 10 to 12 gauge wire.

Unfortunately, there is no coding on the crimp connector to identify the screw diameter it works best for.

If I am going to crimp a connector onto stranded wire, I to strip the wire to the length needed for the crimp, then twist the strands tight, then tin the stripped are (effectively turning the stranded wire into solid wire in the crimp area), the do the crimp. Sometimes for finely stranded wire, I solder a bit where the stripped wire comes out of the spade crimp connector. I do this because in my past experience (especially I tend to be a bit clumsy once in a while), crimping  just to the stranded wire can result in the wire being pulled out of the crimp by an accidental tug.

It's not recommended to solder a wire when using a proper crimp. A soldered wire end can break from flexing. If the crimp is done properly, sized correctly, etc. then it's wise not to solder tin the wire.

Having spent over 20 years designing wire harnesses for the pharmaceutical equipment industry, I can tell you that a properly crimped ring, spade, quick connect, etc. will hold onto the wire very securely. A strong tug should not pull it off. No tinning or soldering is required or recommended. A proper crimp is not rocket science, but should be studied before it is relied on. A good crimping tool, technique, and knowledge of matching connectors to wire gauges (and insulation thicknesses) is key. YouTube is your friend. I have probably hundreds of crimp terminals all over my layout with no worries.

Great advice above on crimping connectors. I’ve used dozens of them (always spade connectors) on my layout and they make great connections. And, no, I never solder them. As always, have the right tools, correct parts, and do your homework.

I don't know about other industries, but in aerospace applications, it's verboten to solder the wire before it's crimped!  The solder will oxidize over time and possibly cause a high resistance joint.  Probably not an issue as a rule for model trains, but if your fuel pump stops working because of a high resistance joint, it could spoil your whole day!  That goes double flying over mountainous terrain!

Having just completed construction of a new layout, I tried just about every imaginable reasonably priced connector/terminal available to see if there was something better out there and, other than situations which called for soldering (like certain track connections),  I always came back to a simple crimp lug and crimp butt splice. No special crimp tool needed - I have a 14" long flat pair of linesman pliers that I inherited from somebody a long time ago and an oversized right forearm from playing competitive tennis for 50 years.

I would also think a crimped stranded wire provides more surface electrical contact area on the lug than if the wire end was tinned/soldered.

gunrunnerjohn posted:

German posted:

Some might say crimp on a ring terminal to the end of your wire. But the time to take the terminal nuts all the way off and put back on is likey to be not much faster than partially removing the nut and wraping a wire around the threaded stud.

It's not slow if you use a spade lug.   No need to take the nut all the way off.

GRJ is correct.  The spade lug is definitely the fastest on/off once crimped.  I do use rings on my transformer binding post, but only because I had them around and I did not foresee ever having to disconnect them.

But how do you stack them? The ends are bulky and it is very hard to stack multiple plugs on a binding post.

I put them back to back some times or spread them around the clock, so as to speak.

TrainHead posted:

But how do you stack them? The ends are bulky and it is very hard to stack multiple plugs on a binding post.

Stack Them?  I would possibly, If you really need to.  If all you need are Two "stacked", either use a lug of sufficient size to accommodate two wires pigtailed together and inserting them into the lug then crimp them.  Another idea is to offset the lugs by 90 degrees and tighten the knurled nut on the binding post.  Again these ideas are only practical if try to "Stack" a maximum of two Lugs.

The optimal and best solution is to take a lead from the transformer to a Barrier strip which can have a shorting strip used to make all posts common.  This will give any number of connections.

To be honest I use the pigtailed wires crimped as a daisy chain for my common neutral along my transformers and then go to a "neutral" barrier strip on my control board for all devices that need a Neutral.